Ryo Watanabe homered and drove in three runs to back a seven-inning shutout performance from Shoki Murakami as the Hanshin Tigers trounced the Chunichi Dragons 8-0 on Thursday.
Watanabe pushed the Tigers' lead to 5-0 with a two-run homer in the fifth inning before the utility player, who joined the Tigers last October from the Nippon Ham Fighters, added an RBI double in the seventh as part of a 3-for-4 night at Koshien Stadium.
Takumu Nakano also led the offense with four singles, scoring four times for the Central League-leading Tigers, who jumped out to a 3-0 lead through the first three innings.
Murakami (6-3), having a breakout season in his third year as a pro, picked up a win for the first time at his home stadium. The right-hander allowed five hits, walked one and struck out six.
Chunichi starting pitcher Takahiro Matsuba (0-2) gave up five runs, three earned, in five innings.
In the CL's other game of the day, the Hiroshima Carp beat the DeNA BayStars 5-3 for their fifth consecutive victory.
In the Pacific League, Kensuke Kondo hit a go-ahead three-run homer in the eighth inning as the SoftBank Hawks edged the Rakuten Eagles 3-2.
